Engine starter



Nov. 22, 1932. F. A. VASTANO 1,838,300

ENGINE STARTER Filed Marbh 22, 1952 I .9 4c 11 o 5 I 15 '1 INVENTOR,

Patented Nov. 22, 1932 UNETED STATES FREDERICK A. VASTANO, OF PATERSON,NEW JERSEY ENGINE STARTER Application filed March 22, 1932. Serial No.600,441.

This invention relates to starting mechanism for internal combustionengines, and particularly to starting mechanism to be used in connectionwith internal combustion engines employed in the so-called kicker orpropelling means for small boats. The principal object is to provide, incombination with the fly-wheel or equivalent rotary element of such anengine, a starting mechanism in which the power may be stored up by handand then readily released for starting the engine. Another objectis soto construct the starting mechanism that it may be readily applied tosaid element and then removed when the engine has been started, beingfor that purpose as compact and light in weight as possible. Anotherobject is to construct the part of said mechanism whereby the power ismanually stored up so as to afford an effective grip to the operator anda convenient means for applying the mechanism to or removing it fromsaid element.

Tn the drawing,

Fig.1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the flyw ieel andtiming disk of the engine and my starter mechanism operativelyassociated therewith;

2 is plan thereof;

F 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of thr hing-drum and fly-wheel;

. at shows a modification of the handle;

rig. 5 shows an adapter by which the engine shaft. may be extended ifnecessary to accommodate my mechanism. I

in the drawing, 1 is the projecting shaft and 2 the fly-wheel orequivalent rotary element of the engine, and 3 is a part of the engine,as its timing disk, with reference to which the fly-wheel rotates.

On the shaft is arranged a handle structure comprising a sleeve 4 andthe handle 5. The sleeve is revoluble on the shaft and has a :lowerflange 4a, an upper flange l0 screwed onto its threaded portion 45, anda square head 4d upon which is fitted the square central socket of thehandle 5, which is here in the form of a wheel.

The flanges la and form with flanges 6a of a hollow drum 6 the races forthe balls 7 of ball-bearings.

Contained in the drum and secured at its ends thereto and to the sleeveof the handle structure is a helical spring 8.

Gn the top of the drum is a series of ratchet teeth 9 concentrictherewith, and arranged in a radial housing 5a of the handle structureis a pawl 10 normally held engaged with said ratchet teeth by a spring11, said pawl being adapted to be withdrawn from the ratchet teeth by agrip in the form of a lever 12 which is connected with the pawl by alink 13 and has its grip-portion 12a underlying the annular handle orgrip portion of the wheel 5.

The mechanism comprising the sleeve drum and spring is unitary incharacter, an if the handle is pinned, as at 5:0, to the sleeve it willform a part of such unitary mechanism. Such mechanism is adapted to ,beplaced on or removed from the shaft, for which purpose the wheel 5 formsa convenient means for lifting it with the use of both hands.

On the lower face of the drum are ratchet teeth and on the top face ofthe element 2 other ratchet teeth, both arranged concentrically of theshaft and coact-ive with each other. These teeth form abutments coactivewith each other to resist rotation of the drum relatively to saidelement when the handle structure is rotated in the direction in whichthe pawl 10 clicks idly over the teeth 9 and formed to cam past eachother when said element is rotated in said direction by engine power, aswhen the engine has been started. Thus the acting and camming faces 14aand 15a, respectively, arefaced revers'ely to the corresponding faces ofthe teeth 9.

At 16 is a locking pin or detent removably arranged in holes 1a and 3aof the drum and part 3.

Instead of the wheel 5 the handle may take the form of a lever 17 asshown in Fig. 4.

Operation.The parts being assembled as shown in Fig. 1, so that theratchet teeth 14,-15 prevent the drum from rotating in the direction ofwinding up the spring (or here clockwise), the handle structure 4-5 isrotated by hand in said direction, thus winding for lifting it.

the spring, said structure being held from rerotation, thus to preservethe spring energy stored up, b the engagement of pawl 10 with ratchet 9.f the resistance in the engine is not sufficient to prevent thefly-wheel from rotating in this 0 eration pin 16 ma be applied to lockthe fly-wheel to the timing disk 3. Having thus stored up power in thespring (and having removed pin 16 if it has been made to lock thefly-wheel and timing disk together), and while now manually holding saidstructure from re-rotation the operator retracts the pawl 10 by pressureon lever 12, whereupon the energy of the spring will be freed to rotatethe fiy-wheel and hence start the engine, the abutments 14-45 clickingidly past each other. The unit 468 may now be removed, and if the handle5 is a part thereof it will form a convenient means If the shaft 1 isnot upwardly prolonged far enough to form a proper support for thesleeve 4 the extension or adapter 18 shown in Fig. 5 may be screwed ontoits upper end.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

1. In combination, with the rotary element of an internal combustionengine, said element having a projecting axial shaft, a unitary startingmechanism for the engine cornprising a handle structure having a sleeveto fit over and revolve upon the shaft, a drum revoluble on the sleeveand a helical spring in the drum connected at its ends to the drum andsleeve, said drum having ratchet teeth concentric with the sleeve, and amanually disengageable pawl normally engaged with said teeth and carriedby the handle structure, said element and drum havingcoactive abutmentsadapted to resist rotation of the drum relatively to said clement whenthe handle structure is rotated in the direction in which the pawlclicks idly over said ratchet teeth and formed to cam past each otherwhen said element is rotated in said direction under engine power.

2. In combination, with the rotary element of an internal combustionengine, said element having a projecting shaft, a unitary startingmechanism for the engine comprising a handle structure having a sleeveto fit over and revolve upon the shaft and a handle remote from thesleeve, a drum revoluble on the sleeve and a helical spring in the drumconnected at its ends to the drum and sleeve, said drum having ratchetteeth concentric with the sleeve, a pawl device normally enlgaged withsaid teeth and carried by the andle structure and having a manuallyoperated grip adjacent the handle of the latter,

said element and drum having coactive abutments adapted to resistrotation of the drum relatively to said element when the handlestructure is rotated in the direction in which the pawl clicks idly oversaid ratchet teeth and formed to cam past each other when said elementrotates in said direction under engine power.

3. In combination, with the rotary element of an internal combustionengine, said element having a projecting shaft, a unitary startingmechanism for the engine comprising, with a handle structure itselfcomprisin" a sleeve to fit over and revolve upon the shaft and a handlefixed against axial displacement relatively to the sleeve, a drumrevoluble on the sleeve and a helical spring in the drum connected atits ends to the drum and sleeve, said drum having ratchet teethconcentric with the sleeve, and a manually disengageable pawl normallyengaged with said teeth and carried by said handle structure, saidelement and drum having coactive abutments adapted to resist rotation ofthe drum relatively to said clement when the handle structure is rotatedin the direction in which the pawl clicks idly over said ratchet teethand formed to cam past each other when said element rotated in saiddirection under engine power.

A portable starter mechanism for the rotary element of an internalcombustion engine having as a fixed axial part of said element aprojecting shaft, said mechanism comprising a handle structure having asleeve to fit over and revolve upon the shaft, 0. hollow drum revolubleon the sleeve and confined thereby against axial displacement relativelythereto, a helical spring in the drum connected at its ends to the drumand FREDERICK A. VASTANO.

